The Velich 2005 Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese displays Black tea, peppermint, sage, and candied lemon and grapefruit rind on the nose. Eszencia-like viscosity and apricot preserve character, grapefruit marmalade, and buttery, yeasty notes carry along with pungent herbal persistence into a penetrating finish of formidable intensity and creaminess, yet uncanny elegance and lift. This amazing concentrate shows considerable sweetness for a Velich wine, and has only around 9% alcohol. It should be worth following for 12-15 years.Heinz Velich (whose brother and former partner is the force behind the wines of Moric, about which see elsewhere in this report) produces Austria’s most distinguished Chardonnay (from vines his father planted believing they were Pinot Blanc) as well as some of the country’s finest nobly sweet wines. His wines are marked among other things by long stays in barrel and low-sulfur, resulting in a style Velich considers but closer to tradition and (especially when it comes to nobly sweet elixirs) more interesting from a culinary standpoint than the more reductive approach favored by most of his fellow Neusiedlersee vintners.Importer: Winemonger, Los Angeles, CA; www.winemonger.com